Mid brain function

Your pons is a part of your brainstem, a structure that links your brain to your spinal cord. It handles unconscious processes and jobs, such as your sleep-wake cycle and breathing. It also contains several junction points for nerves that control muscles and carry information from senses in your head and face. Overview What is the pons? Your pons is the second-lowest section of your Your pons is a key merging point for several of your cranial nerves, which are nerves with direct connections to your brain. Those nerve connections are vital, helping with several of the senses on or in your head, plus your ability to move various parts of your face and mouth. Function What is the function of the pons? Your pons is a part of your brainstem, which links your brain to your spinal cord. That makes your pons a vital section of your Key jobs Your pons handles several important jobs on its own. • It influences your sleep cycle. Your pons sets your body’s level of alertness when you wake up. • It manages pain signals. Your pons relays and regulates the signals that give you the sensation of pain from anywhere in your body below your neck. • It works with other brain structures. Your pons is a key connection point to your cerebellum, another key part of your brain that handles balance and movement. It also works cooperatively with other parts of your brainstem that manage your breathing. Cranial nerve connections In addition, your pons contains several key junctions for four of your 1...

The midbrain, also called the mesencephalon, has multiple functions. These The midbrain is located above the hindbrain, the cerebral cortex, and situated near the center of the brain overall. The brain and spinal cord link together to enable the various functions of the midbrain. Voluntary movements are triggered by the rubrospinal tract, which runs from the cerebellum downwards to the spinal cord. The midbrain is comprised of many different parts. A closer look at the structure and function of the midbrain will help contextualize its role within the brain as a whole. Making Sense Of The Midbrain’s Functions Your The midbrain must be able to do all these things for us to survive. Without the function of the midbrain, we wouldn’t be able to respond to threats or even move. For instance, if you accidentally touch your hand to a hot stove, your midbrain is what lets you jerk your hand back. The midbrain is what controls your motor movement and reflexes, letting you respond appropriately to situations like that. Parts Of The Midbrain The midbrain can be divided into four different parts or regions. These regions are the tegmentum, the tectum, the cerebral aqueduct, and the cerebral peduncles. The tectum and its connections. Photo: By Henry Vandyke Carter – Henry Gray (1918) Anatomy of the Human Body (See “Book” section below)Bartleby.com: Gray’s Anatomy, Plate 719, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=526909 The tectum is the term given to the midbrai...

Midbrain (Mesencephalon) The midbrain, or mesencephalon, is the most rostral part of the The midbrain is the shortest part of the brainstem. However, it contains many important structures that make it essential for the proper functioning of the body: • It contains the relay nuclei involved in the processing of auditory and visual information • It houses the • It provides the passageway for the This article will discuss the Key facts about the midbrain Definition The initial part of the brainstem that connects the pons with the forebrain Parts Tectum (roof/quadrigeminal plate) Cerebral peduncles - Crus cerebri - Tegmentum - Substantia nigra Nuclei and other gray matter Motor nucleus of oculomotor nerve, accessory motor nucleus of oculomotor nerve (Edinger-Westphal), nucleus of trochlear nerve, mesencephalic nucleus of trigeminal nerve; red nucleus; substantia nigra; peraqueductal gray matter Tracts Ascending: superior cerebellar peduncle, medial longitudinal fasciculus, spinothalamic tract (spinal lemniscus), medial lemniscus, trigeminothalamic tract (trigeminal lemniscus), lateral lemniscus Descending: corticospinal pathway, corticobulbar pathway, corticopontine pathway Function Eye movement, ocular and auditory reflexes, breathing, pain modulation, mood regulation, enables the passage of the major ascending and descending pathway [Anterior view of the brainstem] As the peduncles converge caudally towards the pons, they bound a fossa on the anterior surface of the midbrain...